There's a few new 12 x 5.25" bay cases on the market by Xigmatech:

 

Xigmatek Elysium Black Server Edition (non window) CCC-HSA0DS-U03 All Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Super Tower Computer Case - $220 + shipping

 

 

 

Xigmatek Elysium Black CCC-HSA0DS-U01 All Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Super Tower Computer Case - $220 + shipping

 

 

Xigmatek Elysium Silver CCC-HSA0DS-U02 Black / Silver Aluminum / Steel ATX Super Tower Computer Case - $220 + shipping

 

Pricing is roughly half-way between the Lian Li cases and Antec cases.  I still prefer the looks of the Antec 1200 to these, although the Xigmatechs appear to have lots of rubberized cable management cutouts, which is a nice feature.  The built-in casters (wheels) in two of the three models are also very nice, as 20 drive servers are heavy!

 

Wow...those Xigmatek cases look pretty drool-worthy (esp.considering all the stuff you can fit in there). Now, give me a sane reason why I should change cases again? Well here it is. Oh, maybe I should be in the unRaid UCD thread. Just kidding, but they do really make you consider. I hope someone posts pics and experiences in due time.

I am looking for a new case. I now have a Lian Li PC-A17B case that hold 9 5.25"drives. I placed 3 CSE-M35T Supermicro SATA HD trays in these 9 slots. They are 5 to 3 trays. I am looking for a case that holds 12 5.25" drives so can use 4 Supermicro SATA HD trays. The cases that hold 12 drives seem to have three removable cages that hold three drives each and the remaining three seem to be at the top and fixed to the case; I can't tell if I could slide a Supermicro SATA HD tray in to these. Has anyone used these Supermicro SATA HD trays in these 12 drive cases?

Are there any good rackmount cases similar to the norco 4220/4, but less drive bays, ~12?  Be interested to see even if they didn't have the backplane - more looking for similar form. 

Norco makes 12 and 16 bay rackmount cases as well.  You can browse their entire product line here.

Anyone have any experience with the Case Labs cases? Looks like they have a lot of different configurations that can hold 20+ drives in a non-rack mount configuration. The Magnum M-8 seems very popular for people on OCN and OCF. I didn't see anyone with a large drive array, however.

 

http://www.caselabs-store.com/

Wow those Xigmatek cases look the part - but do they play well with others?

 

Since I have 3 5-in-3 cages already, I could get a big-ass Xig case and another 5-in-3 cage to bring my space up a bit... maybe more reliable than a Norco RPC-4224?

 

Hmm... anyone had cause to purchase/use one of these 12x5.25" monsters yet?

 

i have one for my evga htpx mainboard ... dual socket 1366 - only fits into 4 or 5 cases available worldwide. Case is heavy, but great material and good concept for cables etc - worth that money

Nice!  With your rig, do you use 5-in-3 cages, or if you did, do you think they'd fit with no messing about?

 

I'm not looking for another bunch of work bending tabs out of the way just to be able to slide in my drive cages...

I know this is a custom build, but has anyone seen a case that's anywhere near as streamlined as this one:

 

http://www.willudesign.com/BlackDwarfTop.html

 

I'm also intrigued by his claims of under load it only consumes about 90 watts, but that's a different topic.

 

Never seen anything quite like that, but it's pretty good for a custom build.

 

Now if he wants to build me a 22 drive case the same way, I'd buy that

 

Will the Zalman Ms-1000 hold the CSE-M35T 5in3? Will 3 of them fit?

I went with the prominent 9 because it was available for like $90.  I would of liked to have gone with the Centurion 590 but I couldn't find one in stock.  I personally prefer the clean, black straight lines.. rectangular.. I like the square corners on the 590 over the rounded ones on the prominent 9.  But I think the prominent 9 looks pretty nice still.

Heads up, Antec has modified the Twelve Hundred V3 on the sly! It is now the Twelve Hundred V3 3.0...see the Greenleaf blog for details.

 

Guys,

 

I can get a Nexus Edge pretty cheap. It has 9 5.25" bays, but they are tool-less, meaning I will have to attach those sliders to the harddisk bays. Does any one know if that will work? In general, or specific to this case.

 

I got those ridiculously cheap Norco 5-in-3 non-hotswapping bays, which where a pita to mount in my Lian Li PC-A17 case.

Guys,

 

I can get a Nexus Edge pretty cheap. It has 9 5.25" bays, but they are tool-less, meaning I will have to attach those sliders to the harddisk bays. Does any one know if that will work? In general, or specific to this case.

 

I got those ridiculously cheap Norco 5-in-3 non-hotswapping bays, which where a pita to mount in my Lian Li PC-A17 case.

 

Just took a close look at the interior of the Nexus Edge case-impressive.

Seems quite simple to adapt for 5in3 use. It has large holes on the side of each bay. You could either use some of the Nexus tool-less parts as intended, or create metal tabs to pass screws through, and attach the Norco cages easily.

Don't know about the upper 5 1/4 bay, though. You might want to take a close look in there, and see if that upper bay opens up fully in the front as the rest of the bays do, and the switches and cables give you enough room for an upper 5in3 cage.

Overall, this case seems to be a good choice for a Tower build. I'd grab it!

 

Good luck,

Ramon

I'm thinking about an unRaid setup, but since this will be placed in the mains utility cabinet, i don't have the space for a tower. There is also not enough depth for a 19" casing. What i'm looking for is a small form factor enclosure, which still can hold 8 to 12 disks, like e.g. the Synology 1812 or 2411:

 

 

Even a tower casing that can be placed on it's side would be ok, if it's depth doesn't exeed 40cm. But from what i can find, almost all tower enclosures have their on/off switch and controls on top, not on the front of the machine...

 

Any tips?

I just got the Fractal Design Define XL case.  It was $129 at Microcenter and has 10 3.5 inch drive bays with trays (not hot swap) and 4 5.25 drive bays externally.  I loaded it up with 15 drives by buying a cooler master 4 in 3 bay for drives and then using the remaining 5.25 for another 3.5 hard drive.

 

The case is loaded but it is easy to put together and it really is built sturdy.  The entire Unraid system is not in one case with over 20TB and it is super quiet.  I recommend this case to anyone looking to build a system with 15 or fewer drives.

I got those ridiculously cheap Norco 5-in-3 non-hotswapping bays, which where a pita to mount in my Lian Li PC-A17 case.

 

Can you point us to these cheap Norco non-hotswapping 5-in-3's, and ideally where to buy them?  I've searched quite a bit and this is the only reference to non-backplane 5-in-3 I've been able to find :-/

 

I feel somewhat foolish paying $100 for a hotswapping 5-in-3 when you can get a non-hotswapping 4-in-3 for <$25.  A cheap non-hotswapping 5-in-3 would be great.

http://cybershop.ri-vier.nl/5-bay-mobile-rack-module-hdr5-p-104.html

http://cybershop.ri-vier.nl/5-bay-mobile-rack-module-hdr5-p-104.html

Wow, they seem to be the only retailer who sells this product?

 

Contacted them for a shipping quote to the US, though doubt that's a viable option for me.

 

Thanks for the info though!

http://cybershop.ri-vier.nl/5-bay-mobile-rack-module-hdr5-p-104.html

Wow, they seem to be the only retailer who sells this product?

 

Contacted them for a shipping quote to the US, though doubt that's a viable option for me.

 

Thanks for the info though!

 

They are also available, at MODDIY  http://www.moddiy.com/products/5%252din%252d3-Device-Module-Hard-Disk-Cage-SAS%7B47%7DSATA-Expander-Enclosure.html. They are about $15 USD more per bay on this site, shipping was very cheap for 4 of them and they arrived in under a week from China. Something to check out if you're thinking of ordering them as I'm not sure what shipping costs from the NL site.

 

Here is a sample of them used in my Sharkoon Rebel 12 build:

 

 

 

Here is a link to my build: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=21993.0

 

so im just starting to look at chassises that will go into my newly set up rack closet and was wondering what the unRaid community thought of this 2U drive bay...

 

coming from a 4 drive readynas, i feel like the norco 4u chassis is overkill for now.. thoughts?

Wow this looks like a very nice ITX case with room for 6 drives.  Not sure you could get much smaller and still fit this many drives in and have enough airlofw to keep it all cool.

 

http://www.nikktech.com/main/articles/pc-hardware/1151-bitfenix-prodigy-mini-itx-pc-case?showall=&limitstart=

Nice looking cases and so much variety when using a tower. Anyone willing to share info on their rackmount?

My setup is brand new but it is installed in an old second hand Enlight EN8950 Server Case that has a few dings and scratches... It must be around 15 years old, i guess.

 

It looks like this:

 

 

 

 

 

It is ugly and bland and it weighs a ton, and i have to use these adapter bracket thingies to hold the drives in place but on the plus side:

 

- it's built like a tank

- it's roomy! i have complete access to everything just by removing the side door, and i can fit nine drives total (and i'm guessing that i should be able to squeeze a couple of hdd cages in there as well).

- it's well ventilated - the case sits in the basement, and the average drive temperature is around 25-30°C when at full charge.

 

Here a shot of my own rig:

 

 

Cheers!